January 2011

Despite ongoing worries across much of the Middle East and a surging price for crude oil , American equity markets trended higher in Monday trading. The broad S&P 500 led the way on the upside, posting gains of 0.8% compared to a 0.6% jump in the Dow and a 0.5% rise in the tech-heavy Nasdaq. Oil markets were the main focus as traders bid up the price of the important commodity in light of ongoing tensions in Egypt, pushing the price of oil up close to $3/bbl or roughly 3.1% in the trading session. A variety of other commodities also surged on the day as the U.S. dollar slumped, pushing everything from livestock to grains higher for the session. [click to continue…]

Van Eck announced Monday morning that it will exercise its right to suspend creation orders of the Market Vectors Egypt Index ETF (EGPT) in the wake of protests in the north African country. The move is consistent with the firm’s normal policy of suspending creation orders when the underlying market is closed for an extended period, thereby helping to prevent the costs of creation activity to be borne by existing shareholders. Egypt’s stock exchange will be closed on Tuesday for a third consecutive day; the country’s main index fell 16% in the two days after protests broke out last week. [click to continue…]

Pax World, a leader in the field of sustainable investing, has rolled out the second product in its ESG Shares lineup. The Pax MSCI EAFE ESG Index ETF (EAPS) will seek to replicate a benchmark consisting of stocks in the Europe, Australasian, and Far East regions that meed certain environmental, social, and governance criteria. EAPS […]

iShares, the largest issuer of U.S. ETFs by total assets, continues to make plans to expand its product lineup with the filing of three new ETFs. While the company has been expanding heavily in country-specific funds as of late, it seems to have taken a step towards broader funds once again with this latest release. […]

Most markets inched higher last week, but hit a bit of road bump on Friday after investors digested news of declining consumer sentiment for January and a worse-than-expected GDP report. Gold and oil both traded lower during the week, but both commodities were able to stage a small rallies on Friday amidst all the uncertainty […]

This week saw earnings season kick into high gear as markets reacted to the most recent performances of the nation’s biggest firms. Big name companies like Halliburton, Texas Instruments, and Abbott Labs all brought good news to markets with their strong marks, while others like Johnson & Johnson and Amazon disappointed investors, coming in below […]

After leading all ETF issuers in cash inflows in 2010, Vanguard is wasting no time building out its lineup in 2011. The Pennsylvania-based firm recently launched the Total International Stock ETF (VXUS), a fund designed to offer global exposure to companies located outside the U.S. The new ETF is linked to the MSCI All Country […]

Friday closed the week out on a low note, as markets fell from their 29 month highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost over 150 points (1.4%) on the day, with the Nasdaq and the S&P taking a harder hit, losing 2.5%, and 1.8%, respectively. Markets were pushed into the red as tensions in Egypt […]

RBS rolled out its second exchange-traded note on Thursday, adding the U.S. Mid Cap Trendpilot Index ETN (TRNM) to its lineup. The new note will be linked to the performance of the RBS U.S. Mid Cap Trendpilot Index, a dynamic benchmark that shifts exposure between mid cap stocks and low risk Treasuries depending on observable […]

Continuing a very active month for the ETF industry, State Street rolled out three new sector-specific funds on Thursday. Each of the new products will provide more targeted exposure than the ultra-popular sector SPDRs that focus on the nine major industries of the U.S. economy. The new ETFs include:

Today’s market has been especially rough for consumer product companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Colgate Palmolive, and Procter & Gamble, which have all sunk on weak guidance thanks to disappointing growth in developed markets. While these product makers have tumbled some had hoped that the key retailers would be able to avoid this malaise […]

Another rough start to trading on Thursday gave way to solid gains in the afternoon session as some key earnings reports helped to boost investor sentiment. The Dow managed to finish the day ahead by just four points while the S&P 500 posted gains of 0.2% and the Nasdaq led the way on the upside […]